Recruits Rise to New Heights

October 25, 2011

by Scott Lawson

The Albany Fire Department Tuesday conducted training exercises at an Albany single family home that is slated for demolition. The house at the 506 Bradford St. was used by firefighters to train with ladders.

New recruits in the department’s academy were led by their instructors, Lt. Bill Krug

Lt. Bill Krug speaks wtih students (Scott Lawson)

of Ladder 2 in Arbor Hill, and Lt. Craig Wickham of Ladder 4 on Delaware Ave., to do various ladder company jobs which consisted of throwing up ground ladders, and operating the aerial, the hydraulically operated ladder on the back of the truck controlled by firefighters.

The McVeigh Funeral Home received permission from the Albany Common Council to demolish the house at 506 Bradford St. where the firefighters trained. The council decision to permit the demolition to make room for parking was first reported on the Pine Hills blog on Sept. 19. However, before the building is torn down to expand the size of the parking lot, the location was donated to the Albany Fire Department to use for training purposes.

Recruits use ground ladders to reach roof peak (Scott Lawson)

According to recruit Phil Stein, the class was sworn into the department on August 5 and their training began three days later. During their training, the recruits have been taught how to handle car fires, hazardous materials spills and exposures, search and rescue, and structure fires.

Going out to train with vacant buildings is something that the department doesn’t get to do every day, according to Deputy Chief Joseph Toomey. In the past year, the department has been able to do something like this maybe three of four times. Before a building is torn down in the city of Albany, the department asks for permission to use the property for training purposes if the building is sturdy enough for training.

“We got to do this at Saint Rose before they tore down the buildings for their new dorms and

Lt. Bill Krug speaks to his class (Scott Lawson)

at Albany Med in the past,” said Toomey.

Krug is grateful for the opportunity to train with the use of the building on Bradford Street.

“It is a great help having these buildings,” said Krug.

The class is scheduled to graduate on November 10th.

A date for the demolition has not yet been scheduled according to the Albany Fire Department. -30-